Cooking or processing apparatus



o c't. 7, 1947.

w. w. WAGNER COOKING 0R PROCESSING- APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 PZEHEATING' CHAMBEK 55, i l/ a5 V/ 54 @o CooKING 0R fRocEssING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1944 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 7, 1947. w. w. WAGNER y 2,428,481

' coxme on Pnocssme APPARATUS Filed March '7; 1944 s'sneets-sheet s Z5 /ZA 'taff VWM, ajzze/f Patented Oct. '.7, l947 UNITED STATES :PAT EN T 'O F `F IC E COOKING OR PROCESSING APPARATUS Wiltz W. Wagner,'New Orleans, La.

,ApplicationMarch 7, 1944, Serial No. 525,472

(Cl. vE39-'348) 1 claim. l

This invention relates to systems or apparatus 'for cooking or processing large quantities of -vluent materials such as fountain or other syrup, fountain fruits, preserves, pie llings, jellies, soup 4and vegetables or the like, and for expeditiously villling containers with the cooked or processed materials.

An object of the invention is to provide a system or apparatus of the kind referred to which includes a mixing tank equipped with tempera- 'ture control and agitating means and which is ladapted to have valved communication with a main cooking tank, the arrangement being such `as to enable materials to be given a preliminary *mixing or treatment when desired before being rdeposited in the main cooking tank.

Another object is rto provide a main cooking tank or vessel having improved equipment for `heating or cooling and agitating the contents and from which the processed materials may `selectively be filled directly into containers, or Ydischarged into storage tanks, which latter may be provided with heating and agitating equipment.

Another object of the invention is to provide `storage tanks of the kind referred to So constructed or equipped as to permit independent treatment of separate batches of material re- ,ceived from the main tank, which will provide for vdischarged into containers.l

Another object of the invention is to provide ,improved means for discharging material from atank and means for maintaining the discharging means clear of obstructions so as to promote free flow.

A further object of the invention is to provide Vmeans for enabling the expeditious operation of all units or auxiliary parts with a minimum of labor, and ,conveying mechanism for transporting the containers away from the lling tanks to equipment for capping, washing, and/or sterilizing the containers and nally labeling them.

Other objects will become apparent from a reading of the following description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which: v

Figure 1 is a plan view of the system or .ap-

paratus Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the line A2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in elevation looking toward the tanks or cooking vequipment from a position betweenthe latter and the conveyor; and

Figure 4 is a substantially central vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken through the mixing tank and main tank.

In the embodiment shown for the purposes zof illustration a-main cooking or processing'tank or `vessel indicated at I0 vis provided with an outlet Vor discharge conduit I I which preferably includes va funnel-shaped or hopper-shaped portion I2 ldirectly connected to the tank I6. Flow of material `from the tank through' the conduit `II is controlled by a -valve I3 preferably located within the hopper-shaped portion I2 and may also vbe controlled by a disk or plug valve I4 adapted -to seat on the hopper portion I2 at the upper en'd thereof. The valve I4 is fastened to the lower end lof an operating rod or Stem I 5 journaled and guided `for lvertical movements by brackets I6 Vextending inwardly from the `wall of the tank Il).

One of the brackets I 6 carries a stationary nut or sleeve I'I which receives a screw-threaded portion I8 of the rod I5 so that the stem I5 and consequently the valve I4 may be raised or lowered rets I6.

Water may be supplied to the tank I0 through a pipe 2U under control of a valve 2| and materials to beprocessed in the tank I0 may be introduced into its top which is open. Since the Vtank Ii) is to be used at times as a cooking vessel it is provided with a heating coil 22 of th'e type wherein all of the coil parts may be supplied with heating medium simultaneously or, alternatively, only aportion of the coil parts may be supplied with the heating medium, whereby the heat available lfor processing the contents may be varied. The coils '22 may be connected either to a source of heating medium, such as steam, or cooling medium depending upon the nature of the treatment'l to be accomplished. The coil 22 preferably is adapted to be placed in communication either with a source of steam supply, refrigerant, or city water supply.

Materials being processed in the tank I may be agitated by `a rotatable mechanical agitator Vvgenerallydesignated 23 and including a vertical shaft 2d 'journaled in bearings 25 and propellervlike blades 2%3 extending radially from the shaft Vat different elevations. The shaft maybe driven by any suitable means, vsuch as an electric motor 2l mounted on va bracket 28 secured to the tank I0. The motor 2l' drives a belt lil-which is trained over a pulleyl secured to the shaft 24.

Also mounted within the tank I 0 are coils or ypipes 3l and 32 adapted to be supplied under valve control with steam and compressed air, respectively. The pipes 3| and 32 are provided with nozzles 33 all pointing downwardly so as to direct ilud jets against'the bottom of the tank ii). The mechanical agitator 23 and the steam and air of them inrcombination, o r all simultaneously, ac,-

deposited in the main tank I0.

cording to the conditions and processing desired. The bottommost agitato-r blades 26 are mounted to rotate in a plane adjacent the bottom of the tank IIJY and the jet agitator nozzles 33 are disposed above this plane and are arranged to direct jets of agitating uid downwardly into the path of rotation Yof the blades. The agitation Caused by the jets and by the blades 26 is of a compound nature and is extremely effective in preventing The apparatus often is used for the rapid cooking of large quantities of materials some of the ingredients of which require mixing before being AV preliminary mixing tank 34 is provided for effecting the desired preliminary mixing when required and is adapted to discharge preliminarily mixed materials directly into the top of the tank IS.' Preliminary mixing is especially advantageous in Yprocessing certain ingredients used in the manufacture of. jelly and in the dissolving of cocoa. ',The tank 34 preferably is mounted at a level higher than that of the tank I and may, for

example, be mounted on a supporting framework 35. vThe preliminary mixing tank 34 preferably kis provided with equipment for cooking or cooling and agitating the materials which equipment may bersimilar to the cooking, cooling and agitating equipment provided in the main tank I6. Thus the tank 34 is equipped with a centrally disposed,

rotatable, mechanical agitator 36 comprising one or more blades 31 xed to a shaft 38 journalled in bearings 39. A pulley 40 at the top of the shaft j38is traversed by a belt 4I driven by a motor 42 supported on the tank 34. Within the tank 34 is individually or selectively in any desired combination or all may be used simultaneously..

After material has been given a preliminary heating or treatment and mixing in the tank 34 it may be discharged into the tank Ill through an outlet pipe 4'! equipped With a cut-olT valve 48. If desired the tank 34 may be equipped with a plug valve similar to the valve I4 described above with reference to the main tank I6.

Preferably each of the tanks Ill and 34 is equipped with a thermometer 49 and the main tank I0 may be equipped with a float-controlled liquid level gauge 56, although any other conventional or suitable type of liquid level gauge may be used. The tank 34 may also be equipped with liquid level indicating means (not shown).

-Water may be introduced into the preliminary mixing tank through a Valve controlled pipe I.

The outlet pipe I I leading from the main tank I0 is equipped with a cut-01T valve 52. A discharge nipple 53 is connected to the outlet pipe I I between the valves I3 and 5-2. Flow of material through the nipple 53 and connected pipe is controlled by a valve 54. The nipple 53 and connected Vpiping controlled Vby the valve. 54 is especially advantageous when vegetables or pie Viillings are to be cooked or processed because they enable Vthe processed material to be led directly to a container or containers instead of being rst 4 delivered to storage tanks to be described hereinafter.

Connected to the hopper portion I2 of the outletpipe Il of the main tank Ill'are inlet nozzles 55 and 56 each equipped with a control valve 5l. The nozzles 55 and 56 are disposed at dilerent elevations with the nozzle 55 being inclined downwardly toward the pipe I I and the nozzle 56 being inclined upwardly toward the pipe II. Fluid under pressure such as steam or compressed air may be supplied through either or both of the nozzles 55 and 56 for dislodging materials which do not ow readily and which clog or have a tendency to clog the hopper part I2. Ordinarily the valve 54 is closed and the valves I3, I4 and 52 are open so that batches of cooked or processed materials will be discharged from the main tank into a manifold or distributor pipe 58 communi-- eating through branch pipes 59 with one or more of a plurality ofstorage tanks 60. Cut-off valves 6I in the distributing pipes 59 and valves 62 Vin the manifold 58 provide for the selective delivering of material to the respective storage tanks 60. The storage tanks 60 may be open or closed at thetop and except as to their size, being smaller than the main tank I0, they are otherwise equipped similarly to thevmain tank I0. fI'hus the tanks 66 are provided with coils 63 adapted to be supplied with a heating or cooling medium under valve control and are equipped with mechanical agitators 64 similarl to the agitators 24 and 36 previously described. The agitators 64 may have any desired number of blades and may be driven from individual electric motors 65. Each tank 60 also is equipped with pipes 66 and 61 each of which may be equipped with downwardly directed nozzles (not shown) similar` to the nozzles 33 and 46 previously referred to.v `The tanks 66 may also be provided with thermometers S8 and with liquid level indicating meanslnot' shown).

The provision of the auxiliary or storage tanks 60 is particularly advantageous when processing certain foods which must be cookedl rapidly or which, at the` end of the day, have not been necessities of the individual mixes.

the storage tanks 6I!Y may be reheated the fol# lowing day or even later so as to'complete thev processing and bring them to the temperatures required before being canned or sealed in other containers. Another advantage of using the separate storage tanks 60 is that certain basic mixes, for example, fountain syrup bases, Ymay be divided and stored in the tanks` 66 in separate batches, the batches cooled in vtheir respective tanks 60 and the contents of each tank 60 then avored differently. j l

The materials from the storage -or'auxiliary tanks 66 may be discharged through outlet pipes 68 equipped With suitable control valves 69. If desired, ow through the outlet d.pipestll' may be controlled additionally by plug valves similar to the valve I4 with which the'mainV tank I0 is equipped. Detachably, adjustably, and rotatably connected tothe outlet pipes 68V are inlet sections 'I0 of U-shaped lling nozzles II each of which includes a plurality of tubes or nozzles 12 adapted to be inserted in containers 13 to be filled. The pipes or tubes 12 preferably are quite long so that they will extend well into the containers 13 with the bottoms of the pipes or tubes close to the bottoms of the containers so as to avoid turbulence and formation of foam, thus permitting more rapid filling of the containers 13.

While being filled the containers 'i3 are supported on a strip, platform, or conveyor 74 locate-d beneath the storage tanks 89. The containers 73 are preheated and/or sterilized and are then cooled within a preheating and cooling chamber or equipment 75. The strip or conveyor 'E4 receives treated containers from the chamber 75 and conveys or directs them beneath the filling nozzles 72. When the member 74 is a moving conveyor it is given an intermittent feeding Inotion so that the containers may be held stationary while being lled.

The filled containers are transferred manually from the strip or conveyor 'i4 to a conveyor 7B which moves them to the right as viewed in Figure 1 into operative relation to a conventional capping machine 11. After the containers have been capped they are delivered to a power driven roller conveyor 78. For convenience of the operator one or more tables or platforms 79 for holding caps, materials, or accessories may be pro-- vided adjacent the conveyor 'i8 and the capping machine 71.

The roller conveyor 78 carries the capped containers through a washing and sterilizing apparatus generally designated A and which includes a hood 80 equipped with openings 8l in its ends through which the containers may be conveyed. Mounted within the hood 88 is piping 82 having variously directed discharge nozzles 83 for delivering hot water or steam at different angles upon containers being passed through the apparatus A. Hot water or steam is supplied through a pipe 84 under control of a valve 85 and thence through an inlet or branch pipe 86 connected to the piping 82. Hot water or condensate which may co1- lect in a pan or tray 8'! is returned to the pipe 86 by means of a pumping apparatus generally designated 88 and a return pipe 89. Thus the hot water may be re-circulated as desired and a fresh supply of hot water may be made available under the control of the valve 85.

After the containers 'I3 are washed and/or sterilized in the apparatus A they are carried by the conveyor 18 through a unit or apparatus B which is similar in construction to the apparatus A and which,v therefore, need not be described in detail. 'I'he apparatus B is employed for cooling rather than heating or sterilizing the containers and is equipped with nozzles similar to the nozzles 83 in the unit A for discharging a cooling medium such as water onto the containers 73. The cooling medium preferably should be maintained at freezing temperature or only a little above freezing temperature by appropriate refrigerating apparatus (not shown). The cooling of the processed materials at this point is desirable especially when the materials comprise fruits, the cooling of which causes them to retain their original color. It will be apparent that the units A and B may be used jointly or separately and independently according to the nature of the material in the containers 73.

After the containers 'I3 are moved through and beyond the unit B the conveyor 78 discharges them onto a conveyor 90 which moves them past a labeling machine 9| which may be of any conventional type. Preferably a platform or table 92 for holding a supply of labels or other accessories or materials is positioned adjacent the conveyor 98 and the labeling machine 9i. When the containers 13 have been carried to the discharge end of the conveyor at the left in Figure 1, they are placed manually on a return conveyor 93 which travels at a level lower than the conveyors 76 and 99. The conveyor 93 then delivers the containers to a point between the conveyor and the container filling station so as to be conveniently removable by an attendant.

All of the conveyors 74, 18, 78, 99 and 93 preferably are adjustable as to width and elevation and the conveyor 'F6 is at least as long as the series of storage tanks 88.

When manufacturing jelly the filling nozzles 'il are detached from the pipes 88 and are replaced by long flexible hose. The free or discharge ends of the hose are inserted in barrels and preferably are provided with conventional nozzles adapted to cut off automatically when pressure is released on a valve opener. The barrels preferably are moved on a conveyor because in the manufacture of barreled jelly only a small amount of jelly can be placed in a barrel or container at one time and then must be allowed to harden or set'until the next layer is placed on top of it.

The apparatus disclosed herein embodies the invention in the form now preferred but it will be understood that changes may be made without departing from the invention as defined in the claim.

I claim:

Apparatus of the class described comprising a main tank, a mixing tank above said main tank having a valved discharge pipe arranged over the main tank, mechanical agitating means in each tank, controls on the respective tanks geared to said agitating means, means in each tank adjacent its bottom to discharge air under pressure downwardly to function dually as a processing aid and for agitating purposes, and means in each tank adjacent its bottom to discharge steam downwardly to function dually as a pro'cessing aid and for agitating purposes, and outlet means from the main tank having an upright operating stem disposed out of the path of said mechanical agitating means and relatively close to the said wall of the main tank.

WILTZ W. WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 155,980 Schimper et al Oct. 13, 1874 256,809 Roat Apr. 18, 1882 288,333 Hayes Nov. 13, 1883 475,784 Martin May 31, 1892 493,342 Rach Mar. 14, 1893 528,680 Odin Nov. 6, 1894 739,350 Rutter Sept. 22, 1903 840,370 Rach Jan. 1, 1907 1,911,579 McNeil May 30, 1933 1,912,278 Key May 30, 1933 1,990,779 Eberts Feb. 12, 1935 2,335,052 Glocker Nov. 23, 1943 

